Tale of two halves for Under 18s

Elliott Davies - pictured here against Leicester Tigers - helped his side to a 15-0 half-time lead

Mike Henley

Warriors Under 18s were involved in the ultimate game of two halves on Saturday as they went down 32-15 to Gloucester at Hartpury College.

The match got underway with Warriors playing with a strong wind behind them and the visitors took an early lead.

Gloucester failed to gather a high ball and Joe Wrafter went over the whitewash from the resulting ruck.

Warriors continued to dominate the first-half, aided by the tailwind, and Gloucester struggled to get out of their own half for much of the first period.

Elliott Davies increased Warriors' lead with a penalty after good build-up play and Mark Hewitt's men got their second try of the afternoon through Andrew Boyce, with Davies adding the extras.

With Warriors leading 15-0 at half-time few could have predicted the outcome of the second-half as the visitors were pinned back and forced to defend for the rest of the match.

Gloucester's accurate play was rewarded with an early converted try to narrow the deficit to eight points.
As the hosts dominated, they went over for another converted try and added a penalty moments later to take the lead for the first time in the match - 17-15.

With Gloucester enjoying the lion's share of possession, they stretched their lead and pulled away with three tries in the last 15 minutes.

Academy Manager Hewitt said: "This was another tough game which ran away from us in the latter stages. The conditions were difficult to play in and a 15-point lead was not enough return with the wind behind our backs.

"The boys will have learnt many lessons from this game in terms of game management and ball retention. Our focus is now on Sale Sharks next month."

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